Train order delivery fork



NOV. 18, 1947. w RQBERTSON 2,431,199

TRAIN ORDERDELIVERY FORK Filed April 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I VENTOR.

Nov. 18,1947. wfE. ROBERTSON v 2,431,199

TRAIN ORDER DELIVERY FORK Filed April 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 42 J Z3 22 42 4/ i I V Q 4/ A m w A,

4 J E 49 a9 45 J1 45 if I J1 J5 if e 1 J5 F95 4% 45 26 I J T J2 45 I 6 I Z6 Z2 39 t E .33 h 'bY li'qe IN V EN TOR.

Patented Nov. 18, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE TRAIN onnnn DELIVERY FORK 'Wayne Earl Robertson, Westhy, Wis. Application April 6, 1944, :S6Ii3J-N'0w529fl05 .4,Claims.

1 My invention relates to train .orde-r delivery devices that releasably retain written orders Q11 looped cords in position to bepicked up by crews of trains in motion. The inventionis particularly directed to an improved form of delivery if or-k adapted for use in a train order delivery device of the type "disclosed in my- Patent 2,289,21-3 issued July 7, 1942.

The device disclosed 'in said patent comprises a vertical stafi for use adjacent a railroad track,

'the staff carrying an upper delivery unit and a lower delivery unit. Each of the two delivery units comprisestwo forks ada-pted to releasably retain looped cords holding train orders. ';I;n :a

typical use of the device the first engineer of 1a double-header takes the order from one -fork.='of

the upper unit whereupon thatior-k drops-down out of operative position to bereplaced hy a second'fork of theupper unit presenting. an order for the second engineer. In like mannerthe -'c'onductor takes :an order from one fork of the lower unit whereupon a second fork of thelower unit drops in place for the fi-agmanat thejend ofthe train.

One obiectof my invention is to providoalong- Wearing order fork that when strung with an order-hearing loop willrbe dependable for deliveri-ng the loop to a train traveling at a hi'gh speed,

.say .ni-nety miles or more .perhoun-and yet will engage the loop with sufficient .reten tivity and tautness to resist accidental forces tending to release the loop. I have found that the attainment of. this object requires a, fork with-relatively highly resilient arm's. 'Such a fork, when-tautly strung, will require no special care-against accicrew-man on the traveling train a largejt'arget offering considerable latitude forpositioning o'f his hand. This requirement is especially important when the 'deviceis used in dim light at n ght.

The second requirement is that there be no great disparity between the; span of the loaded or restrained fork and the span of the unrestrained .45 dimensions and proportions being to give the moderately when relievedlof ia message-bearing -.loop. This flatter requirementarises because the .space between the two @forks of a delivery unit must necessarily besmall when used fordeliver- Jing orders to: high speed trains. With suchsmall spacing .anyexcessiveiexpansi'on of the first fork when relievedofian order will interfere with the second .forkeof theyd'elivery unit holding the sec- 50nd copy of the order.

:It :is-a -further object of my invention to meet these two requirements in constructin'ganeflicient and .substantially -accident-pro'o'f delivery fork. LI-have-found that a certain conflict in considerationscis involved because the arms of the delivery for-k should-be highly resilient for proper operati-on and-forprevention of accidental release, but such high resiliency usually means relatively great *flexure *of the arms to make a loop adequately taut. Relativelygrea't flexure, of course, means relatively great expansion of a fork upon re'leaseofthe loop. ,A feature of myinvention is the concept Qfre'so'lving this conflict by so 'cornb'ininghigh'ly resilient elements andhighly rigid elements in the fork construction that the tips of the fork arehighly resilient but provide therequired looptautnesspwith only moderate flexure. A still further object of my invention is to provide Wire arms-that are free from sharp edges or points thatmightbe hazardous to the user.

In general, my newefprk comprises a bow with a base or a central portion of rigid -material and arms of relatively-resilient materialsuch as wire of suitable springiness, the proportioning of the iiigidoentralportion-to the resilient end portions beingsuch as tolimit to a desired degree the expansiveness. of the how upon the release of an order loop. Such a bow will hold a loop with substantial tautness. ,To further safeguard againstraboidentalrelease I so bend the tips of the wire arms as to=form relatively deep and relatively narrow recesses to engage the loop, To form the loop into a relatively large and easy target I -inake theebow large in span and relatively deep, and as ;a .further expedient to this end ,I place on the central rigid portion of the loowvtwowidely spaced clips to hold the loop of cord wide open.

{I'heseandother objects-and advantages of my invention willherapparent from the detailed description t0 qwtaken .Withthe accompanying drawings.

InTthe drawingswhichare to :be considered as merely illust ive,

fork, in other words, that the fork expand only .lllis agschematiovio i t t a tr order delivery device equipped with my new delivery fork;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the delivery fork showing an order loop in the process f being mounted thereon;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the order loop in its final mounted position;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken as indicated by the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a similar section taken along the line 5-5; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view taken as indicated by the arrow 6 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1 shows the general organization of a means for mounting a plurality of order delivery forks, the means being described in detail in my patent mentioned above. A brief description will suffice here.

An upright staff [ii is removably mounted in a tubular base H, the staff being supported and held against rotation by a suitable key l2 on a chain 13, the key extending diametrically through the staff and resting in suitable notches at the upper end of the tubular base. The staff i carries an upper delivery unit generally designated i comprising two delivery forks I6 and IT to serve the first and second engineer of a train. The staff also carries a lower delivery unit generally designated 18 comprising two delivery forks 26 and 2i to serve the conductor and flagman, respectively, of the train.

The two forks H and 2| are shown in normal operating positions releasably retaining cord loops generally designated 22,with messages 23 thereon, the fork I! being at a relatively high level corresponding to the height of an engine cab and the fork 2| being at a lower level convenient to the conductor and flagman. When an order loop is removed from one of the forks H and 2!, a rearward portion 25 of the loop actuates a trigger (not shown) to cause the relieved fork to drop away and to cause the second fork of the unit to drop into substantially the same operative position. when relieved of its order loop, will drop to the dotted position 26 in Fig. 1 and the other fork 2% of the unit willsimultaneously drop to substantially the position formerly occupied by the fork 22. The mode of operation is set forth in more detail in the above mentioned patent.

The fork construction to which the present invention is directed may be understood by referring to Figs. 2 to 6. The fork consists of a bow mounted on the usual shank or stem 21. The bow comprises a, rigid central base generally designated 28 of suitably thick wood or other rigid material on which steel wire of ten gauge thickness, for example, is mounted to form two resilient wire arms 39. The wire to form the two arms may be a single piece but I prefer to employ two separate pieces as indicated in the drawing.

A feature of the present specific construction is the concept of using a base 28 of curved configuration or of general crescent shape with a curved groove or channel therein for mounting the two wire arms 30. The important advantage of snugly seating a curved wire in a correspondingly curved channel is that the wire is held against axial rotation by virtue of its curved configuration alone and requires no special clamp or anchorage to prevent rotation.

Each of the two lateral support portions 3| of the base 2% has a curved rear side 32 in which is formed a suitable groove or channel 33 to receive the curved root portion of the corresponding Thus, for example, the fork 2|,

Wire arm 30. Thus each arm of the bow considered as a whole has a rigid base portion provided by the wood base 28 and a highly flexible outer portion of wire. It is necessary to secure the root portion of a wire arm at only two points. In the present construction one of the securing means for each wire arm is a U-shaped clip 35 that fits around the base 28 and is secured thereto by a suitable bolt 36 and nut 37, as shown in Fig. 4. The other retaining means may be a sheet metal clip 38 mounted on the curved rear side 32 of the base by a suitable wood screw 40. Preferably the groove 33 for each of the wire arms 3!] is somewhat shallow in the region of the clip 38 so that the wire protrudes slightly from the groove for pressure engagement by the clip.

The outer ends of the wire arms 30 are bent or offset to form relatively deep recesses ll to seat portions of the loop 22. To prevent accidental release of the loop 22, it is advantageous to so form the wire that the sides of the recesses 4| slant relative to each other to define an angle of not more than ninety degrees thus giving the ss relatively steep sides. Preferably the wire arms 30 at their outer ends are bent back on themselves to form smooth blunt ends 42 free from any hazardous edges.

To hold the cord loop 22 open, some type of releasable retaining means is provided on th base 28 to engage the loop in cooperation with the recesses 4| on the ends of the arms 30. A feature of the present construction is the use of two retaining clips 43 instead of one, the retaining clips being spaced relatively far apart. Each of the retaining clips 43 may be in the form of a suitable leaf spring mounted on the base 28 by means of a wood screw 45, the leaf spring having the normal configuration shown in Fig. 5.

The manner in which the new order delivery fork is to be employed may be readily understood from the foregoing description. Fig. 2 indicates the manner in which the loop 22 may be applied to the fork, the loop being initially engaged with the recesses 4| at the ends of the arms 30. It will be appreciated that if the two clips 43 are designed to grip the loop effectively, they will permit a slack portion to be formed in the loop. One advantage of such an arrangement is that considerable latitude is permitted in the dimensioning of the loop since the tautness of the loop in mounted position is not determined by the dimensions of the loop itself. It is merely necessary that the loop be of ample dimensions since any excess length can be accommodated in forming the slack portion.

If the fork is to be used manuall instead of being mounted on the staff It) shown in Fig. l, the user may carry the fork by the shank 2'! with no particular care against accidental release since the cord is mounted with substantial tautness and since the recesses 4| provide relatively deep and relatively sharp angled recesses for the loop. If the fork is to be employed on the staff If in the manner indicated by Fig. 1, the user will insert the shank 2'! in one of the two tubes 41 of one of the order delivery units and secure the delivery fork b tightening a suitable thumb screw (not shown). If the fork is placed at the lower station of a delivery unit, the slack portion of the loop will, of course, be extended into engagement with a suitable trigger as disclosed in my prior patent. In that event preferably, as shown in Fig. 3, a knot 49 is tied in the slack portion of the loop so that any creepage of the loop in the clips will not cause the trigger to be released.

The tying of the knot forms the previously mentioned rearwardly extending portion 25 of the loop for engagement with the trigger.

Certain dimensional and spacial relationships are important in the operation of my device and in the attainment of the-stated objects of the invention.

One relationship is the forming of the loopretaining bow with a depth on the order of onefourth to one-half of the span when the bow is unrestrained, that is to say when the bow is not contracted by an order-bearing loop. By depth is meant a measurement taken as indicated at :r in .Fig. 2. Another way of defining this relationship is to :state that the angle C in Fig. 2 is obtuse when the bow is unrestrained, this angle being defined by two lines drawn from the tips ofnthe bow to a central forward point on thefibase 28.

.Since angle C refers to the configuration of the bow in the absence of a loop, it is merely incidental that Fig.2 shows portions of the loop'held by the user at approximate alignment withjthe legs of angle C.

A further relationship may be understood by pointing out in Fig. 3 that if the angles A formed in the loop 22 at the end of the arms 30 are too acute, the effect is to cut down the size of the tar-get since the side portions 48 of the loop will lie too close to the outer portion 50 in the regions of the bow ends and may get in the way of a trainmans hand. Another way of saying the same thing is that the directions of the side portions 43 of the loop should be such as to form an angle B that is acute or less than ninety degrees to provide ample clearance for a trainmans hand near the vertices of the angles A. If a single retaining clip 43 were employed at a central forward position on the base 28, as shown in the above-mentioned patent, instead of the two spaced clips shown herein, the directions of the two side portions 56 of the loop relative to each other would form an obtuse angle B. By narrowing angle B, I correspondingly increase angles A.

A further relationship is in the proportioning of the span of the base 28 relative to the over-all span of the bow when restrained by a taut loop 22, the span of the base being at least one-third of the restrained span of the bow. Such proportioning makes the arms relatively short so that while the arms are made of highly resilient material resistance to fiexure of the arms increases rapidly with flexure, only moderate contraction of the bow being necessary to place the loop 22 under suificient tautness to prevent accidental disengagement of the loop.

One fact that more or less ties in with some of the above relationships is that the two lateral support portions 3i of the base 28 are at an obtuse angle relative to each other. In the preferred form of the invention this fact resides in the crescent-shaped configuration of the base 28,

While primary consideration has been given to so designing the fork as to present such a large target that a trainman may strike the loop properly Without excessive care, allowance has been made for the fact that when a train travels ninety or more miles an hour a trainman may occasionally hold his hand too high or too low and. thereb come into contact with an arm of the fork. At such high train speed, the impact of the hand against anything rigid is severe enough to cause injury. Since, however, the arms of the fork are made of thin resiliently flexible wires instead of thick relatively rigid members, the arms yield freely to cushion the high speed impact and thus avoid hand injuries. Forming the wire tips to present smoothblunt ends eliminates any relatively sharp edges that might lacerate the hand.

It will be further noted that' the proportioning and dimensioning of the fork aresuch as to provide relativelygreat depthior the-restrainedbow, that- Iis to (say, relatively great distance 'fromthe outer straig-ht portion "2 2 ofithe loop to the-rig id base128. There is' therefore-only a remote possibility'that a trainman s hand will strike the base 28, the nearest portion o'i t'hefork that is of sumcient rigidity to constitute-a hazard.

My. description in detail of a preferred form rof the invention will suggest to those skilled in the'art various changes and modifications under my basic reonoeplts and I reserve the right to :su-ch departures :from my description that :properly lie within the-scope of my appended claims.

;I claim: .-1. In a delivery unit off :the .class described,

a pair of forks mounted on a common support with their adjacent edges :close :to each other and each ,fork releasably-holding :a closed ."flexible loop carrying a train order, each fork comprising the combination of a base having two lateral rigid support portions forming an obtuse angle, resilient wire members mounted on said support portions and extending therefrom to form therewith a bow having a rigid central portion and resilient end portions not appreciably longer than the central portion, means on the outer ends of said resilient members to releasably engage said loop, and means cooperative with said engaging means to hold the loop open under tension, said bow offering rapidly increasing resistance to contraction by reason of the relatively short length of said resilient portions relative to the combined lengths of the rigid and resilient portions whereby the configuration of the how when contracted sufficiently to place said loop under accident-preventing tension is relatively close in span to the unrestrained configuration of the bow, so that neither of the bows expands into contact with the adjacent bow when a loop is released.

2. In a fork for releasably holding a closed flexible loop carrying a train order, the combination of a rigid base having two lateral support portions forming an obtuse angle, resilient wire members mounted on said support portions and extending therefrom to form therewith a bow having a rigid central portion and flexible end portions, said wire members being bent to form loop-receiving recesses near their outer ends, the

: outer ends of said wire members being bent back on themselves to form smooth blunt ends for the bow, two spaced means on said base to releasably engage the loop for cooperation with said recesses to hold the loop open in tension, the spanwise dimension of said base being at least one-third of the span of the restrained configuration of the bow to make the unsupported lengths of said wires relatively short for rapidly increasing resistance to contraction of the bow whereby the configuration of the bow when contracted sufficiently to place said loop under accident-preventing tension is relatively close in span to the unrestrained configuration of the bow.

3. In a fork for releasably holding a closed flexible loop carrying a train order, the combination of a base having two lateral rigid support portions, each of said support portions having a curved channel formed therein, two wire arms mounted on said base portions respectively, each of said wire arms having a curved root portion mounted in the curved channel on the base portion, means on the outer ends of said wire arms to engage said loop, and retaining means on said base cooperative with said engaging means to hold the loop open under tension.

4. In a fork for releasably holding a closed flexible loop carrying a train order, the combination of a. base having two lateral rigid support portions, each of said support portions having a curved channel formed therein, two wire arms mounted on said base, each of said wire arms having a curved. root portion mounted in the curved channel on the corresponding support portion of the base, means on the outer ends of said Wire arms to engage said loop, and retaining means on said base cooperative with said engaging means to hold the loop open under tension, the spanwise dimension of said base being at least one-third of the span of the restrained configuration of the bow to make the unsupported lengths of said wire arms relatively short for rapidly increasing resistance to contraction of the bow whereby the configuration of the bow when contracted sufiiciently to place said loop under accident-resisting tension is relatively close in span to the unrestrained con- 

